Capitol Sunlight: A citizen’s guide to lawmaking and lobbying in Colorado
If you were able to tip up the gold dome of the Colorado Capitol and peer inside, the policymaking during the legislative session would look like organized chaos. And it’s hard to see how average voters can get their voices heard.
This is where The Colorado Sun wants to help. For the 2019 legislative session, we are launching Capitol Sunlight, where we pull back the curtain to demystify the state’s lawmaking process and help residents become more engaged.
Over the next 120-day term, we’ll shine our reporting light on the politics, people and policy at the state Capitol and offer avenues for everyone to get involved.
Read more below and check back often for more stories. And, most importantly, we want to hear from you. Tell us what you want to know — and we’ll work to find answers, whether it’s explaining the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights or questioning lawmakers about a particular bill. More details on how to connect with us below.
— John Frank, The Colorado Sun
GET STARTED
Click a link below to jump to that section
- Tracker: The Polis Promise Tracker
- Guide: Citizen’s guide to the Capitol
- Series: A first-year lawmaker
- Explainers: How Colorado laws, policies, agencies and politics work
- Your Questions: Questions from readers, answered.
Jared Polis Promise Tracker
During his 2018 campaign, Jared Polis made a lot of promises to voters, and we’re tracking his progress on them.
- EXPLORE: The Promise Tracker.
- ANALYSIS: Progress on the 10 biggest promises of the campaign.
- FIRST SESSION: How the promises fared after his first legislative session.
A citizen’s guide to the Capitol
- A citizens’ guide to lawmaking and lobbying in Colorado
- Here’s a guide to how the Colorado state budget works, and how much is spent
- What you need to know about TABOR, Gallagher, Amendment 23 and the hidden forces that constrain spending in Colorado
Series: A first-year lawmaker in Colorado
- From the sidelines to the march, and now to the Capitol: One woman’s journey in the Trump era
- How a first-year Colorado lawmaker tried to “go big or go home” with a zero-waste bill
- A new state lawmaker’s first session is over. And she got an earful about it at a town hall meeting.
Explaining how Colorado politics works
- Gov. Jared Polis unveils ambitious, expensive plans in first State of the State. Here’s the speech, annotated.
- KC Becker outlines aggressive agenda in her opening remarks. Here’s the new Colorado House speaker’s speech, annotated.
- Leroy Garcia’s opening remarks are notable for what he didn’t mention. Here’s the Colorado Senate president’s speech, annotated.
- What the $30.5 billion Colorado state budget means for you — yes, you
- Here are the most-lobbied bills in Colorado’s 2019 legislative session. The list may surprise you.
- A look at how policies passed during Colorado’s 2019 legislative session will impact you
- Lobbying spending sets new record in Colorado, as interests shift to influence Democratic-controlled Capitol
- GOP blasted Democrats for the 2019 legislative session. But they supported nearly every bill, analysis shows. And sidebar: The 2019 legislative session in Colorado explained in 5 graphics
Reader questions
- We asked our readers for questions about the Colorado legislature. Here are the answers.
- WATCH: The Colorado Sun’s post-legislative session forum Monday with Gov. Jared Polis and top state lawmakers
- Six big takeaways from The Colorado Sun’s forum with Gov. Jared Polis and top state lawmakers
We still want your questions about how lawmaking works in Colorado
The legislative process is complicated, and we know that you may have questions we haven’t addressed here. So send us your questions below (no question is too small or too basic) and we’ll work to get answers posted throughout the session.
The latest Colorado Sun politics stories
- State lawmaker from southeast Colorado dies after long battle with cancer
- The Polis administration wants a greater say over hospital prices for more than 1 million Coloradans
- Michael Bloomberg unveils his presidential gun reform platform in Aurora, says he’s unsure about his chances in the state
- Colorado is owed 9,900 acres by the federal government. But getting that land could mean no more recreating on it.
- Agriculture is part of the climate change problem. Colorado wants farmers’ soil to be part of the solution.
- Colorado’s new reinsurance program has a TABOR problem. Lawmakers fear that could cause “cascading” impacts across the budget.
- Colorado’s guidance to police on the red flag law doesn’t include what to do if someone won’t give up their guns
- Grand Junction weapons company to pay $1 million for selling Army subpar grenade launchers
- Spring Café linked refugees with state lawmakers. A shortage of immigrants means the Denver coffee shop will close.
- Michael Bennet says he’s shifting national health care debate. But even in his home state, there’s pushback.
- Judiciary Committee, where two Coloradans sit, to take reins on Trump impeachment inquiry
- To boost low measles vaccination rates, public health agencies are targeting Colorado’s biggest counties